Propeller eor ships



MPLlcATn'm FILED MAR. ao, 1,918. Patented 17, 1919.

.3 SHEETS-SHEET I w. c. crease.

PROPELLER FOR SHfPs.

APPLICfd'lON EILED MAR. 30. 19H3.

Patented 111110,17, 1919.

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lf/wf l w. c. GREGG. f

PROPELLER FOR SHIPS.

1,306,892. 8' PatentedJune 17, 1919.

I 3 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

wiLLiAM c. GREGG, or sUiviiviEnvrLLE, SOUTH CAROLINA.

PROPELLER FOR SHIPS.

Specification of Letters Patent. Patented June 17 1919 Application filedMarch 30, 19,18. Serial 110.225,775.

To all 'whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, WILLIAM C. GREGG, a citizen of the United States,residing at Summerville, in the county of Dorchester and State of SouthCarolina, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inPropellers for Ships, of which the following is a specification. s

This invention relates to propellers for ships, and more particularly topropellers of the reciprocating type.

The objects of the invention are to provide an improved mechanism ofthis character which shall be simple and rugged in construction and moreeflicient in operation than propellers heretofore proposed. Otherobjects will appear from the following description.

In order that the invention may be clearly understood, reference is hadto the' accompanying drawings, forming part of this specification, andin which,

Figure 1 is a plan view, partly in section, showing the stern of avessel equipped with my improved propeller;

Fig. 2 is a plan view of the duplex steam engine with cross-connectedvalves which I preferably employ for actuating my i1nproved twinpropellers, parts being broken Way? Fig. 3 is a side elevation thereof;y z

Fig.v 4 is a front elevation of one of my improved propellers, the samebeing shown in its open or operative position; Y,

Fig. 5 is a rear view thereof; Y

Fig. 6 is a view similar `to Fig. 5, showing the propeller in itspartially' collapsed position; and,

Fig.'7 is a diagrammatic view .in side elevation'showing the bow of aship equipped' with a backing propeller, and also illustrating aslightly modified construction of propeller.

Referring to the drawings in detail, the

hull of the ship is indicated by the letter Sand the usual rudder by R.My improved twin propellers are arranged one on each side of the rudder,and aredesignatcd by the letters A and B. The propeller A is connectedby means of ay lpiston rod a with a steam cylinder A', and thepropellerB is connected by means of a piston rod b with a steam cylinderB.

As the detailed mechanic-al construction o each propeller and associatedparts is identical, a description of one will suffice for both..

a Referring to the drawings, and more particularly to Figs. 1, 4, 5, and6 thereof, my

improved propeller comprises Ain general ahollow pyramid or cone-shapedshell, shown as octagonal, made up of a series of wings Y or sections 1,pivotally'connected tointer posed ribs 2. As clearly shown in Figs. 4and 5, the sections are united to the ribs by means of hinges 3 and 4 attheir edges, the said hinges 3 and 4 being disposed alter-i nately.outside and inside of the propeller, respectively. By virtue of thisconstruction, it will be obvious that the propeller is capable offolding or collapsing, as shown in Fig. 6, alternate ribs movinginwardly toward the axis of the cone. The ribs and sections are providedat their forward ends with suitable trunnions 5, rotatably mounted in acone-shaped head @,having rearwardly pro]ecting portions 63, serving asstops against which the ribs and sections engage when the propeller isin its open position, as shown at A, in Fig. 1.

The head 6 is rigidly securedto the outer end of a piston rod consistingof a hollow' inFig.11 this piston preferably consistsfof a pair ofspaced guide members 10al and 10b, connected by a suitable yoke. ,'Apair `of auxiliary pistons 11,. and 12 are also'arranged inthe cylinder9,;one` on each side of the)` piston 10, "and"vare provided ,withthelusual` l packing rings, 'not shown, 'to secure` asteam-1 tight lit.The pistons 11 and12lr arespa'ced apart al distanceh'slightly 'greaterthan rnh'e length of the piston 1(1,fand are maintained' in such spacedrelation by means ,ofy a rod 13, passing 'freely through 'the' piston10;

The vpiston 12 is slidably mounted 'on thev tube 'Iherodl 13 ispivotally connected` to one end of a lever 14,pivotally mounted in theyoke ofthe pfiston',10,",the .other end of which is connected by meansof a link 15 4 with onev end of a rodA 16. .Thifsrod 16 extendsthroughout the length :'ofjvthe',l tube 7 Y and, after passing through asuitab'le;stuf-A ling `box 17, at the outer endof such'tube,

projects into the interior of the'propeller.

Secured lto the outer end of the rod 16 is a block 18, and extendingradiallyV from'sucli block is a plurality of arms or braces .20,pivotally connected at one end to the block 18, as indicated at 19, andat the other end to the ribs 2, as indicated at 21. It will be notedthat there are eight ribs shown in the drawings and that, four of thearms or braces 2O are provided, such braces being connected, to thealternate ribs, as clearly shown in Fig. 5.

As a result of the construction above described, it will be obvious thata forward movement of thefrod 16 results in forcing the ribs k2outwardly and thus expanding the propellenasshown at Ain Fig. 1, while arearward movement ofthe rod results in drawing the alternate ribsinwardly and collapsing the propeller, as shown in Fig. 6, or at B, inFig. 1. It will be further understood that when steam is admitted toeither end of `the cylinder 9, as hereinafter described, the lfirst"effect is to produce an initial movementof the connected auxiliarypistons 11 and 12, in one direction or the other, as the case may be,which movement, by means ofthe connections 14 and 15, above described,results in the shifting of the rod 16 and the consequent expanding orcollapsing of the propeller. It lwill thus be seen'that I-h'ave providedpositive mechanical means for expanding the propeller at the beginning'of its outward stroke and for collapsing the propeller prior to thebeginning ofthe inward or return stroke.

In order to produce the'proper` alternate reciprocations ofA thepro-pellers A and B without the use of'gearing or other complicatedmechanism, I prefer to employ the arrangement of steam engine cylindersand valvesshown inthe drawings. 'Insucharrangement, JI have so designedvthe valve gear that the'valves' of cylinderA are controlledby theYinovements Vof propeller B, while, the valves of cylinder B arecontrolled 'b y theii'iovements of propeller A.

To? this end, 'I lnfioun't'or'i leach piston rod 7, a suitable arm orbracket 22, lcarrying a pin 23, working looselyin 'a' slot l2 4, formedY in a. valve 'actuatingi'od 425, slidably supported adjacent each.cylinden The ends of the ','rods'25 Varefco'nn'e'Cited 'tofcranks'26,secured to apair'ofcross rockfV shafts 27,v

extending between'the two lcylinders. ,Each rock shaft l 27 "carriesfatits end opposite to the crank 26,V va crank '28,which crank is connectedwith a `valve rod 29, having an operative connection with a pair ofoscillatory: valves 30, preferably of the Corliss type@ Thes'ei'f'alvescontfrol beth the inlet to and exhaust from the cylinders in awell known manner.

Steam is supplied through the inain X, havingxthe branch connections 31,32, 33, and 34,'leadin`g to the four valves, while theexhaust'fescapesfrom the main Y, communic'ating with the branch pipes35, 3.6, 37, 38,

and 39, extending from the valves. From the above, itwill be seen that aproportion than shown in the drawings, so Y as to give a long stroke tothe propellers. It is quite possible that in the larger ships, thepropellers will have a stroke of from ten to fteen feet, or more. Wherepistons with such long strokes are employed, it will probably bepreferable to have the valve operating rods 25 extend throughindependent stuffing boxes in the hull, the brackets such as 22 beingliXedat the rear ends of the piston rods, near the propellers. This willenable the cylinders to be placed close up in the stern where theyoccupy substantially the same space as is now occupied by the turbinesin twin screw Steamers.

In order to reverse the direction of the ship or Vessel, I propose tomount in the bow a single propeller C, similar to the propellers A andB, as shown in Fig. 7. This propeller will be actuated through a pistonrod c, by means of a single cylinder reciprocating engine, the valves ofthis engine being actuated at the end of the stroke of the piston bymeans of tappets, as is common in: pumping engines. It is thought thisconstruction will be obvious without further detailed description orillustration.

In certainclasses ofvess'els, such, for example, as battle ships, itwill be desirable to utilize the reciprocating bow propeller as a weaponof attack. To such end, Il propose to vextend the piston rod through'thepropeller and' vprovide the projecting end with a point of hardenedsteel, orv the "like, to constitute a ram 1O, as shown inFig. 7.

It will be understood that 'the backing propellerand ram shown in Fig. 7will normally be housed in acompartment fat the bow separated from'therestof the ship by means of suitable bulk heads,,as indicated in dottedlines. This is for the kpurpose of obviating water resistance whenth'eship is moving forward. The propeller will be projected into full lineposition Y only when being used. The compartment may be provided with amovable door, as shown, if desired.

What I claim is:

1. A reciprocatory Vpropeller comprising a cone-shaped shell made up ofay plurality of sections and interposed ribs to which said sections arepivotally connected.

2. A reciprocatory propeller comprising a coneshaped shell made up ofsections and interposed ribs to which said sections are pivotallyconnected, and means for moving said ribs to collapse the propeller.

3. A propeller comprisinor a shell made up of pivotally connected ribsand sections, means for reciprocating said propeller, and mechanicalpositively acting means connected to said ribs for expanding andcollapsing said shell prior to the beginning of each stroke of thepropeller.

4. A propeller comprising pivotally con` nected sections, a hollowpiston rod to which said propeller is secured, a steam cylinder having apiston rigidly mounted on said piston rod, an actuating rod extendingthrough said hollow piston rod and connected with said sections, andmeans operating upon the admission of steam to said cylinder to iirstshift said actuating rod to expand or collapse said propeller sectionsand then bodily move the piston rod and propeller.

5. A propeller comprising pivotally connected sections, a hollow pistonrod to which said propeller is secured, a steam cylinder having a pistonattached to said piston rod, an actuating rod extending through saidhollow piston rod and connected with said sections, a pair of auxiliarypistons in said cylinder spaced apart and disposed one on either side ofsaid irst named piston, said auxiliary pistons being operativelyconnected with said actuating rod, whereby,

Copies of this patent may be obtained for when steam is admitted to saidcylinder, said auxiliary pistons are lirst moved to shift said actuatingrod to expand or' collapse said propeller, and then the piston rod andpropeller are bodily moved.

6. A propeller comprising a cone-shaped shell made up of a plurality ofsections with ribs disposed between the edges thereof and pivotedthereto, means for reciprocating said propeller, and an actuating rodconnected with alternate ones of said ribs and serving to positivelyexpand or collapse said shell prior to each stroke of said propeller.

7. A pair of reciprocatory propellers, a separate steam cylinder foractuating each, and means for causing one propeller to begin its strokeat the end of the stroke of the other, whereby said propellers operatealternately.

8. A pair of reciprocatory propellers, a separate steam cylinder foractuating each, inlet and exhaust valves for each cylinder, and meansfor operating said valves, the operating means for the valves of onecylinder being connected with and actuated by the propeller driven bvthe other cylinder.

In testimony whereof I aiiX my signature in presence of two witnesses.

` WILLIAM C. GREGG. Witnesses:

DANIEL R. BELL, JOHN I-I. WINTER.

five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington,I). C.

